Stickball Series Starts Saturday In North Miami

There will be a lot of running, stealing and hitting along North Miami's Northeast Eighth Avenue over Labor Day weekend when the city plays host to the three-day World Series of Stickball.

Beginning Saturday, 14 teams from Florida, New York, California and Puerto Rico will take over the street - also known as Stickball Boulevard - to compete for the top title in the old-school game that originated in the streets of New York.

"It is going to be like a big family reunion," said Bobby Medina, who leads the Hurricanes, a local stickball team. "Everyone is looking to come out on top."

Dubbed the poor-man's baseball, stickball is played with a broom handle and a small rubber ball.

In the 1970s, a group of New York transplants brought the sport down to South Florida and began playing in Carol City parking lots. In 1991, the group asked North Miami to rename the street. Every Sunday, orange cones block off the street that runs by North Miami Senior High to traffic.

"It's something we didn't want to leave behind," said George "Big Cherokee" Aviles, 83, who comes out to the weekly Sunday games.

Unlike the streets of the Bronx, Stickball Boulevard doesn't have high-rise buildings or tall fences.

Medina said that makes the games harder, because without the help of barriers such as concrete walls, it is easier for the ball to bounce away.

"You've got one shot in stickball to get it in," he said.

Spectators can set up law chairs along the sides of the streets to watch the four games that will take place at the same time. An opening ceremony to welcome all the visitors will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday.

"It will be a fun family day for everyone," Medina said.

INFORMATIONAL BOX:

If you go

What: World Series of Stickball

Where: Northeast Eighth Avenue and 132nd Street

When: Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.